Photographic Studies
Photographic Studies QQI Level 6 programme is designed to provide an advanced understanding of the photographic medium.
| Award Name | Level 6 Advanced Certificate (Level 6 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | QQI |
| NFQ Level | Level 6 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 6 Advanced Certificate (Level 6 NFQ) | Major | QQI | Level 6 NFQ |
Duration
1 year full-time.
Entry Requirements
QQI Level 5 Award in Photography or in a related area is required.
For mature applicants appropriate experience will be considered in lieu of formal qualifications.
Careers / Further progression
Education Progression Opportunities
• MTU Cork: CR225 Photography & New Media
• TU DUBLIN: TU976 Photography
• IADT: DL833 Photography
• SETU Waterford: WD152 Visual Art
• TUS Limerick: LC110 Art & Design
Over the last 20 years a large number of our students have progressed on to the first year and second year of a number of photography degree courses in the island of Ireland including DL833 Photography degree in iadt (Dún Laoghaire college of Art and Design), TU976 Photography degree course in Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin, formerly DIT) and W641 Photography with Video course in Ulster University Belfast. Students have also progressed to a number of photography and fine art degree coures in England, Wales and Scotland.
Recently students have also progressed onto the new degree course CR225, Photography with New Media in the Crawford College of Art & Design, Cork.
The option of applying to broader based art and media courses is of course also a viable option.
Students have also progressed to other Third Level degree courses unrelated to the core subject e.g., Philosophy, Psychology, Anthropology, Digital Humanities etc.
We advise you to consult the CAO website – www.cao.ie and http://www.cao.ie/index.php?page=fetac_ to confirm specific entry requirements for Higher Education Institutions.
QQI Level 6 awards may have advanced entry options into some Higher Education Institutions.
This course prepares students to progress to a broad range of employment areas within the photographic medium; from freelance work to running their own studio or business, to working as photojournalists or photo editors or artist-photographers. To date we have an almost 100% success rate for students progressing to further study at Third Level colleges in Ireland and abroad. Our students have gone on to have work published in magazines, to edit magazines, to publish books of their own work, to become artists and curators, and to successfully start and run their own businesses.
Further information
Commencement of Course
Courses begin in mid-September with a Welcome & Orientation Session.
Participants who do not attend the first day of the course my forfeit their place unless written notice is received to the college admissions office beforehand.
International Students
Cork College of FET welcomes applications from eligible international students. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that they meet Immigration and Visa requirements prior to applying for a place on a course. Post Leaving Certificate courses DO NOT feature on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes which lists the courses for which an overseas, non-EU/EEA applicant may apply for a study visa to enter the country.
Applications from citizens of EU/EEA countries are not liable for tuition fees, however other course fees may apply.
Mature students are welcome to apply.
€580
Student Charges
Materials: €200
QQI Fee: €80
Student Services: €250
Other: €50
Courses in the college are funded by the Department of Education and SOLAS (the Further Education and Training Authority, with support from the European Social Fund. There are no tuition fees for PLC courses for EU/UK/EEA students.
Course fees are made up of:
• Student Services fee
• Examination fees
• Course Specific costs
Exemptions may apply - contact the college or view the college website.
As part of the course fee, the college campus includes a Student Services Fee. This part covers the supply of additional classroom and study materials, some field trips, industrial site visits, guest lecturers on certain courses, access to college campus IT and printing supports for students, the availability of many college campus leisure and recreational opportunities and support for college campus teams and societies.
This charge applies to ALL students and no exemptions apply; however a student who takes up a confirmed VTOS place will have the charge refunded.
QQI (Quality & Qualifications Ireland) examination fees are €50 for Level 5 courses, or €80 for Level 6 courses.
Some courses incur additional costs for course related items, e.g. student’s kits and uniforms, manuals etc. The Student Services fee includes all these costs. The costs associated any such items apply to all students, including VTOS.
A full breakdown of the fee per course is shown at the individual
campus fee web page.
Maintenance Grant (SUSI)
Learners attending full-time Further Education PLC courses may be eligible for a means-tested maintenance grant. Information regarding eligibility and application details is available at
www.susi.ie
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Cork College of FET understands that learning takes place throughout life and in many settings, such as work or voluntary activities, sporting and participation in community events. We also know that learners may dip in and out of formal education throughout a lifetime depending on their needs. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is when formal recognition is given for the learning you have already achieved prior to starting on a course.
Relevant prior learning may allow a learner to gain accreditation for a component award that forms part of a programme of study. Cork College of FET provides support to learners to apply for RPL.
RPL is available for certain component awards in Cork College of FET. If you feel that RPL may be relevant to you, please contact the campus where you intend to study to discuss further.
Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme – VTOS
The Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) provides a range of supports to allow individuals who are unemployed to return to education or training. The scheme allows successful applicants to keep their Social Welfare Allowances while attending their course in the college. All full-time day courses in each campus are eligible for VTOS.
Applicants must be in receipt of one of these qualifying payments immediately before starting the scheme:
• Jobseekers Allowance or Jobseekers Benefit
• Jobseekers Transitional
• One Parent Family Allowance
• Blind Pension
• Deserted Wife’s Allowance; Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension;
Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Non-Contributory Pension
• Prisoner’s Spouse Allowance
• An Adult Dependent on a person in receipt of Unemployment Assistance
• Disability Allowance
• Illness Benefit (you must apply to the Exemption Section, Dept of Social, Community & Family Affairs, Store St. Dublin 1 for an exemption to attend the course)
Places are Limited on the VTOS programme and are prioritised on the basis of:
i. Educational need
ii. Period of time in receipt of Social Welfare payments
To apply for VTOS:
1. Complete the Cork College of FET Enrolment Procedure as above.
2. A VTOS application form is also filled out with a passport size photograph included. Do NOT complete the back page of the form.
3. Return the form to the campus VTOS Office.
4. The closing date for receipt of VTOS applications forms is September, 8th, 2023.
Application Forms received after this date will be treated as a late application.
Further information and enquiries regarding VTOS should be made to the campus VTOS contact person.
Back to Education Allowance- BTEA
The Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is a scheme for unemployed people, lone parents and people with disabilities who are getting certain payments from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP). DEASP are the decision makers in relation to who will be awarded BTEA.
The allowance can be paid to people who wish to undertake approved second or third level courses of education. BTEA is not an unemployment payment. This weekly allowance is not means tested and you can work part-time without affecting your BTEA payment.
Any full-time day course provided by the Cork College of FET is eligible for BTEA as long as the applicant is progressing their level of education qualification i.e. if an applicant has a Level 5 qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) they must undertake a course that leads to a Level 6 qualification at least.
Further Information is available at www.studentfinance.ie
Yes
How to Apply
Full Time Day Programmes
Applications are invited from early January of each year or once the college’s Online Admissions System becomes live.
Step 1
An online application form (only in exceptional circumstance should a hard copy application form be completed) and submitted through the college’s Admissions System accessed through the college website www.stjohnscollege.ie All applications are acknowledged by an automated email.
Currently the college operates three round of offers in March, May and late August/early September, however some programmes alternate interview arrangements posted on individual programme pages on the college website.
Step 2
Places are offered subject a satisfactory interview and meeting the requirements of the programme as laid out in the individual course outlines as displayed in the college website.
Once the criteria above are met a Letter of Offer is issued outlining the registration process and charges to be paid. Upon receipt of a Letter of offer, a successful applicant may secure a place on the programme by paying within 5 working days a minimum deposit. Applicants will forfeit their place of offer if the registration process as laid down is not adhered to.
The procedure for online payments is as follows:
• A minimum deposit as outlined in the Letter of Offer must be paid online by the applicant using his/her username and password on the St John’s Admissions System and the balance of charges must be paid before class commences.
• Applicants are requested to present a Birth Certificate or Passport and a certified copy of their Leaving Certificate results if available.
Medical Card Holders & Vocational, Training and Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), New Directions and Applied Computer Training applicants:
• Medical Card Holders may exempt from exam fees and reduce the balance of their charges.
• There are no charges to VTOS applicants, and funded programmes such as New Directions and Applied Computer Training applicants
Refund of Payments
• Where a student subsequently does not take up their place on a course they may apply for a refund. Refunds will not be paid after October 31st in any year.
• In the case of all Refunds, a charge will be retained by the College to cover Administration Costs incurred.
• Should there be a difficulty with any of the above; the college will help in any possible.
Overview
This is the progression course for students who have completed the QQI level 5
Photographic Studies QQI Level 6 programme is designed to provide an advanced understanding of the photographic medium. Students’ progress through a series of workshops and lectures aimed at increasing their perceptive awareness, which culminates in the individual’s ability to apply advanced techniques to concept, thereby producing visually successful and articulate work. This educational process also prepares future photographers to eloquently express their work practice when necessary. Upon completion of the Level 6 programme, students gain considerable experience by organizing a professional Graduate Exhibition at a recognized city centre venue.
Running since 1997, the full time level 5 and level 6 Photographic Studies course successfully provides an in-depth education in photography; from film to digital, darkroom to image processing, studio to street, within the context of historical and contemporary perspectives.
Students who have successfully completed the course have gone on to start their own businesses as freelancers, as wedding and portrait photographers, as photojournalists and documentary photographers, studi photographers, printers and as artists. Inspired by the course, a high degree of students also go on to study photography (& other subject areas) at Third Level, with a significant number also coming from Third Level courses to study with us based on the reputation of the course.
We provide a passionate, interactive environment for students of all ages to find their feet (and often themselves!) in our well-equipped new facilities, for a very affordable fee.
Work Placement/Experience
Students gain considerable experience by organizing a professional Graduate Exhibition at a recognized city centre venue. This provides an invaluable experience in seeing projects through from the shooting to the editing to the production of prints and the installation of final bodies of work and books.
6N3730: History of Photography
6N5409: Documentary Practice
6N3725: Creative Darkroom
6N1950: Communications
6N3589: Digital Photography
6N3688: Directorial Photography (incorporating Critical Theory)
6N3731: The Art of Colour Photography
6N3449: Fine Art Photogtaphy
6N1946: Work Experience – Exhibition Organisation
6M3732 - Photography.
Certification: QQI Photography Level 6 6M3732.
Facilities
A brand new Photography Department in the refurbished church building on St John’s campus – A fully equipped darkroom and processing area for B/W analog printing. A spacious studio with professional lighting systems, a digital Suite and digital printing room. – medium & large format cameras and digital cameras are provided by the college.
Admissions office
t: +353 21 425 5500
e: douglasstreetcampus@corketb.ie
Course Co-ordinator:
Gillian Treacy; Padraig Murphy
email: photographicstudies@stjohnscollege.ie